Reminder Of What Makes Our Area Great

You can read list after list about the "Best of...." here in the Tri-State, but it was an interaction I saw on the way to the studio that reminded me of what really stands out.

It was a cloudy, unusually chilly, Saturday in May. I was coming from the Northside on my way to the GBF studio to do my usual Saturday show. When I came upon the intersection of First Avenue and the Lloyd, I saw an older model car with its hazards on.

The two occupants of the vehicle got out and I started thinking their car had broken down. The two men from the car were wearing baggy pants, flat-bill caps, and over-sized t-shirts. Some talking head on a cable news network might even say they looked "thuggish".

The men pulled two full bags of groceries from the car and that's when I noticed the family standing on the median. They were a young family. Mom was in a wheelchair, Dad was holding a sign asking for help, and their toddler was resting in mom's lap.

The two men went up to the family and gave them the groceries they had pulled from the car. The mother started crying and that's when it was clear what I had to write my blog about today.

Evansville has gotten a little bit of bad press considering our rankings on the "Most Obese Cities" and "Most Miserable Cities" lists. However, its acts like the one I witnessed this morning that speaks volumes about a community.

On the flip side of that, random acts of kindness rarely get major press unless it's captured on camera or video. It's not as flashy being "obese" or "miserable" I'm sure the two men didn't want recognition, they wanted to do the right thing when they thought no one was watching.

I was watching and I'm sure other motorists saw the events unfold. Each one of us will now have the inspiration to do some good for those who are less fortunate.

The great thing about the Tri-state is how the area pulls together during a tragedy. But it doesn't take a traumatic event to do good. It's as simple as helping a neighbor in need.

If you have the opportunity to do good, do it. It doesn't matter who is watching or who is helping. Your actions may inspire another person. A flood of good deeds is never a bad thing.

(And if you're the two young men I saw on Saturday morning, contact me. I would like to take you guys out for lunch!)